Josh Rock beaten by 13-year-old as Gerwyn Price stars in Cardiff ahead of 2026 PDC World Darts Championship

Gerwyn Price delivered exactly the sort of pre-2026 PDC World Darts Championship statement he was hoping for on Thursday night, winning twice on home soil and closing out the Modus exhibition in Cardiff with an 8-7 thriller over Jonny Clayton.

But the other major talking point came much earlier in the evening — and from one of the next generation’s youngest stars — as 13-year-old Jayden Walker produced a stunning 3-0 win over Josh Rock.

In a week where 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie reached the WDF World Championship final at Lakeside, the sight of another teenager dismantling a top professional only underlined how fast darts’ youth movement is accelerating.

If Price wanted rhythm, intensity, and a bit of fire heading into the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, he got the full package.

He opened his night with a 3-1 win over Simon Whitlock — “The Iceman freezes the Wizard” as Modus put it — and kept that momentum rolling into the final. There, he edged Clayton 8-7 in front of a home Welsh crowd and sealed the exhibition title with exactly the sort of clutch finishing that has defined his best seasons.

With both Price and Clayton heading to Ally Pally within days, Modus summed it up perfectly: “Both Welsh stars head to Ally Pally in fine form.”

Before Price’s heroics, the biggest roar of the night belonged to Jayden Walker.

Described by Modus as “The Young Gun in Cardiff”, the 13-year-old swept past Josh Rock 3-0 — a result that immediately drew attention given Rock’s reputation as one of darts’ most exciting established young players.

The timing added an extra sting too: just days after teenage sensation Mitchell Lawrie went all the way to the Lakeside final at only 15, Walker joined the growing list of prodigies making serious noise on the exhibition circuit.

The evening opened with Stephen Bunting getting the better of Rob Owen, before Jonny Clayton kept the Welsh crowd warm with a 3-1 victory over Steve Beaton. The atmosphere only ramped up from there, especially once Gerwyn Price and Simon Whitlock took to the stage for their early-session clash.

Between the headline moments from Price and Walker, those undercard results helped set a quick rhythm to the night — the kind Modus exhibitions have become known for in recent months.

With the PDC World Darts Championship just around the corner, these Cardiff outings served different purposes for different players: